Zoo Interim CEO Kevin O’Neill said among the first actions of a new board - set for appointment early next year - will be a visioning process to set a new direction for the zoo, building on its successful past.

Early on, the new board also should decide how long to keep O’Neill in the job, and whether Acting Zoo Director Andy McIntyre should be appointed zoo director, O’Neill said. Beyond that, O’Neill said he’s bringing no preconceived notions to the table in hopes of creating a sort of incubator for fresh ideas.

“One of the big things for next year is getting the new board involved in a visioning process and planning that type of thing,” O’Neill said. “We’ll have to work that from the ground up as opposed to bringing in some ideas of where we want to go.”

O’Neill does expect the new board will likely build on the zoo's past success, proven by record attendance during the past two seasons driven by exciting new exhibits like the bear exhibit, which allows kids to hide food in the bears’ habitat and watch as they later hunt it down. O’Neill also is excited about a new $4.5 million “Tigers of the Realm” exhibit slated to come on line next summer.

That exhibit will bring tigers back to the zoo for the first time since 2009, when a tiger was shipped to a zoo in North Dakota for improved breeding prospects. It includes a holding area, habitat and viewing area and a concession building with new restrooms.

Also included is a second, smaller habitat offering visitors a closer viewing experience along with a water habitat that will give visitors an added perspective on how tigers live. The exhibit is the last from a master plan approved some years back, so the new board will have a clean slate from which to begin.

“This sets the stage for taking the zoo to a whole new level,” O’Neill said. “We know what has worked in the immediate past, which is more interactive, more hands-on exhibits.”

County officials this week tipped their hand that county commissioners Harold Voorhees, R-Wyoming, and Carol Hennessy, D-Grand Rapids will represent the county on the zoo’s new board. A full slate of appointments is expected early next year.

O’Neill tried to assuage concerns the zoo might encroach on the surrounding park, noting most long-time residents think of the zoo and park interchangeably. Even proposals to expand Grand Rapids Public Schools' popular Zoo School won’t affect the park, he said.

“The school is so unique and part of what John Ball Zoo is,” said O’Neill, a former school superintendent. “Even if that was to expand at some point in the future I don’t see that as any kind of incursion into the park.

“There are no plans to do anything in the park other than preserve it,” he added. “It’s not even on the radar screen. Our intent is to preserve the park and zoo for future generations.”

The new agreement preserves county ownership and lasts for 20 years, It provides for two, 20-year extensions. It also specifies the county will continue its financial support next year at $2.5 million before gradually tapering off to a $2 million management fee in 2020.

The new board has no taxing authority of its own, though the agreement provides for a possible future millage. Any millage would first require county board approval and if then approved by voters, county financial support would decrease by the amount raised up to the $2 million management fee.

The county also maintains final approval of the zoo’s master plan governing any physical changes to the facility, though the new zoo board will set admission fees and other costs because it is responsible for zoo finances.